Kids Again
by ZaneBoi
Summary: Set during the ultimate golden weapon arc. Garmadon makes a wish to leave the ninja completely defenseless. Unfortunately it only hit Two of the ninja, but it should be enough to keep them all occupied for a while. after all caring for 2 children with practically no memories can be a little difficult. (full summary inside) (Cross posting on wattpad and AO3) (ALL ART BELONGS TO ME)
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

so, if you didn't read the description fully I will say it again, this is an AU where Zane isn't a robot. it does have an effect on the story so just be aware, he is a human like the rest of them. He is still smart, and all his personality traits are the same, he is just a human.

Of course, Garmadon had to show up today. It was beautiful the ninja were out and about enjoying their Saturday off. And Garmadon just had to show up and ruin it. The ninja had quickly sprang into action the moment they heard the terrified screams of the citizens scrambling away from whatever had decided to attack Ninjago... again.

Garmadon had done his usual threats and attacks, the ninja defending themselves and the citizens quite nicely. Even the Serpentine weren't overwhelming. In situations like these it's easy to get overconfident in yourself and underestimate your opponent.

Jay was taking down serpentine left and right with his normal nun chucks, still bitter about losing the super cool golden weapons. Lloyd was told to stay back, he was unable to fight well in his current unbalanced body. After all he was just turned from a child into a teen in mere seconds. Nya was doing damage control and helping citizens to evacuate the area. While Kai was headed for Garmadon himself, he was struggling a bit to get past the serpentine. Cole and Zane decided to stick together, using their harmonious spinjitzu to take out enemies in sync.

Garmadon happily watched the chaos from atop a large piece of rubble. He had a plan today. His wish would surely get the ninja out of his way forever. To be honest Garmadon didn't even know what the weapon would chose as a punishment for the ninja. His wishes were always so specific, and they always failed, so this time he decided to just wish the ninja were defenseless, who knows maybe the weapon will turn them into flies. Now that would be hilarious.

Satisfied with the amount of destruction he has already caused, Garmadon prepared to make his wish.

"I wish the ninja would become entirely defenseless!" Garmadon screeched with evil lacing his voice. It certainly got the attention of the spinjitzu masters below. The weapon had started to glow and vibrate, a sign that it was working. All the serpentine had started to scatter not wanting to be in the way for whatever the dark overlord planned on doing to those below him.

"Quick, what do we do?!" Jay yelled in panic. The weapon was about to fire at them and they had nowhere to run.

"He can't hit all of us! Split up!" Kai yelled and ran in a different direction as the others broke away from their trance and started booking it down the street.

"Where are you running to, ninja?" Garmadon's laugh sounded like sandpaper was scratching his throat in that evil sort of way. If he couldn't hit all of them, he would just hit the strongest one. He aimed his weapon at the retreating form of the black ninja.

Zane was somehow able to sense this and ran towards Cole using his ice as a shield right as the weapon fired.

The Ice started to crack before it splintered into tiny little shards and the street was filled with a bright blinding light.

The Thick layer of dirt and dust in the air caused by the weapon made it impossible to see 2 feet in front of you. Kai coughed into his fist and he slowly got up from the impact blast that knocked him over.

*cough cough* "Jay? Cole? Zane?" He called out before coughing again.

"Right here." Jay announced weakly as he began to sit up and dust himself off. The cloud was slowly starting to disperse allowing them to see each other.

"Can you see the others?" Kai called to over where Jay was.

"No *cough cough* I think they ran the other way..." Jay got up and walked towards Kai as they met in the middle. They both looked around in silence. Other than the car alarms going off there wasn't another sound in the town square.

"Come on let's go find them." Kai Started walking back from where they came, stepping over a few stray pieces of rubble that Garmadon had knocked off of buildings during his little destructive tantrum trying to get the ninja's attention.

"Cole!" Jay called out, cupping his hands to try and make it sound louder. "Zane!"

"Where are you guys?!" Kai called out as well.

While they were walking they saw a piece of rubble move slightly as if someone was trying to push it off.

"Cole?!" Jay and Kai both ran over to help lift it off whoever was down there. they lifted the big piece of concrete with much effort the tossed it to the side.

What they weren't expecting was Two small children, almost about how Lloyd was before he was turned, Sitting there staring up at them with wide eyes.

"Uhhhhhh... Kai?" Jay whispered still not moving from their spot standing about the kids. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me or are Cole and Zane smaller..."

"Ummmmm..." Kai was lost for words. He slowly brought out his communicator and clicked the button to call Nya.

It buzzed a few time before someone answered on the other end.

"Kai?! Is that you? Are you guys okay?!" Nya immediately shot out question after question.

"Uh... Nya?" Kai's eyes still haven't left the two children staring up at them in the never-ending staring contest of awkwardness. "We're gonna need you to come pick us up with the _Bounty_..."

"Uhh okay? Lloyd and I will be there soon." Nya trailed off as Jay and Kai continued to just stare at the smaller versions of their friends. "Kai? Kai are you still there?"

Kai ignored Nya and hung up the phone. "Soooooo. You guys remember us?"

The two kids still stared in confusion and probably fear. Cole slightly shook his head. Who were these strangers? And why was he in the middle of the town? Where was his dad? And who was this other kid stuck here with him?

Jay just sighed before breaking eye contact. "oh boy... This is gonna be a long day..."

The shadow of the Bounty had come overcast and drew the attention of the young kids. They looked up and stared more at the flying ship that was landing about 50 yards away.

"All right.." Kai sat down so he was eye to eye with Cole and Zane. "You don't know who we are, but we need you to trust us and come with us."

"Why..." Cole whispered. Obviously still in shock of what happened.

"Because we can explain everything, I'm sure you have questions. It's okay, you can trust us we won't hurt you..." Jay added in with a soft voice.

Cole was always taught not to go with strangers but, he felt an odd connection with these people. He looked back at the Blonde-haired kid behind him who was still just staring with wide eyes. He didn't know who he was either, but they were obviously in the same boat, they could at least trust each other.

"O..Okay.." Cole said before starting to get up and brush all the dust off him. He was wearing some black robe thingy... weird. He held out a hand to the smaller Kid who still hadn't gotten up. Thinking he wasn't going to take it, Cole was about to just put his hand down. The much smaller child shakily took the hand that was offered to him and was pulled up by Cole.

Jay and Kai helped them crawl out of the rest of the rubble they were in and started leading them to the giant ship. While the blonde never let go of the hand that Cole offered, they stayed close.

A/N: And that's it for the first chapter. If there are any grammar mistakes please let me know, and if you have any constructive criticism please feel free to give it :) I'm always looking for ways I can improve my nonexistent writing skills


	2. Chapter 2

Cole and Zane were currently sitting in the dining room while the rest of the ninja were talking in the kitchen.

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Jay asked in a hushed whisper, so the now child versions of their brothers don't hear them. "They don't even remember us."

"All we can do is keep them here until Sensei Wu come's back with that antidote he said he would get." Nya replied. Sensei Wu had left almost immediately after the situation was explained to him. The old man had said he knew a solution and to just keep them safe until then.

"It's not like he gave much of an explanation, who knows how long he's gonna be gone.." Kai sighed, pouring himself a cup of steaming tea that had been steeping on the stove. "But judging by the bags he packed, it could be a while..."

"Then we just trust him. My uncle knows what he's doing." Lloyd said in a slightly louder voice signaling the end of the conversation. He finished chopping up the apple slices and brought them out to the dining room where the kids where sitting silently, taking in their surroundings.

"Hey guys, so in case you were hungry I got some apples" Lloyd set down the plate in front of the two, who only blinked at it. "My name's Lloyd, what's yours?"

"I'm Cole... " Cole looked up nervously.

"Well Cole, I'm Jay" The blue ninja smiled and gave a thumbs up hoping to ease the two's nerves. "And this is Kai, and Nya" He pointed to the others who each gave a respective greeting.

"Why are we here?" Cole asked as he grabbed two apple slices and handed one to Zane.

"It's a complicated story, but for now all you need to know is your safe and you can trust us." Nya smiled in a caring way. "And What's your name little fella?"

Zane shrinked behind Cole, half hiding his face. Cole patted the small child's head and turned back to the older ninja in front of them.

"Where's my dad? Can I at least see him?" Cole asked.

"Your dad is safe as well don't worry, we will call him later if you want." Lloyd reassured Cole. "Now due to some... circumstances.. you're going to have to stay with us for a little while."

"So... I can't go home?" Cole whispered.

They ninja looked at each other nervously. They were treading in dangerous waters here. They didn't want to do anything to set the small children off. They also didn't want to accidentally reveal their futures.

"Soon don't worry.." Nya budded in.

"Here why don't we find you some clothes, those gis' are all dirty." Lloyd said while standing up. "I still have some of my old clothes in my closet, they should fit you."

Lloyd led both of the kids out of the room, Zane still keeping close to Cole's side.

"Zane's pretty quiet..." Kai muttered as he took an apple slice off the table.

"What'd you expect?" Jay laughed grabbing some apples as well. "He barely talked as a teenager."

"It's pretty obvious they're wary towards us... but they seem to trust each other just fine." Nya mumbled out in deep thought.

"So, what're we gonna tell Cole's dad?" Jay muttered. The last time the rest of them saw Lou, was at the dance competition for the fang blade. Of course, Cole had made little visits to his father after that without them. "I mean we did promise Cole that we would let them talk."

"That's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it." Kai said.

"-And this is a little too big for you, Zane, but it should be fine for now." The muffled voice of Lloyd came through the rice paper screens, as they walked back to the dining room.

Lloyd slid open the screen as the all stepped back in. Cole was wearing an oversized orange T-shirt with black shorts. Zane's clothes were clearly too big for him, hanging off his small frame. He was wearing a light blue hoodie with the hood shaped like a dinosaur head, and a tail that was attached to the bottom of the sweater. Zane was also wearing grey pants that were a bit too long and covered his feet.

"Hey, how'd you know his name? I've just been calling him 'Little guy' this whole time." Cole said in an accusing voice.

"O-oh ummm..." Lloyd looked around to the other ninja with a worried expression. "He- Told me?"

"You could talk this whole time!" Cole whipped his head around at the dino-hoodie wearing child who just shrugged. "And here I was thinking you didn't even know English."

The others giggled a little at the childish banter, and Jay sent Lloyd a thumbs up signaling 'Nice Save'.

"Now, I know it has been a long day and we are all tired, so we can sort out more of this tomorrow after we have all had a good night's sleep." Nya clapped her hands together. "Kai, and I are going to set up an extra bed in the "black ninja's room" so we can keep them both in the same spot for tonight. Lloyd can you please run them a bath?"

"Aye aye captain." Lloyd saluted and gestured for the small boys to follow him towards the bathroom.

"I'll go get some extra linens." Jay said as they all split up to accomplish their tasks.

Lloyd got both of the boys to the bathroom where he turned on the faucet to the tub. He adjusted the temperature and filled up the bathtub.

"Alright, we're limited on time tonight so just keep your shorts on and you can bathe together." Lloyd said while helping Zane get out of his oversized hoodie.

"That's okay, my Cousins and I would take baths all the time together." Cole said already getting his shirt off and into a part of shorts that Lloyd provided specifically for bath time.

Lloyd had finished tugging off Zane's shirt, when he almost gasped at the skinny pale back in front of him. The entire surface was covered in think scars that went in every direction. Lloyd made a note to discuss that with the others but for the moment he would pay it no mind as the children had already started getting into the tub.

After washing and drying off the children, the boys were led to Cole's old room and tucked into bed.

"Now if you need anything, Lloyd is right across the hall, so don't hesitate to come get him okay?" Nya said as she was about to close the door to the room.

"M'kay.." Cole murmurer as he snuggled into his pillow. Nya cracked the door shut and the rest of the ninja went about their way getting ready for bed.

Cole was drifting off to sleep. He was slightly aware of his surroundings, but his mind was empty, and his eyes were heavy as he was slowly tugged into unconsciousness, but a small sound made him bounce back into the land of the awake.

He listened for a moment before starting to drift away again, when he heard it again.

A small whimper and a rustle of sheets...

By now Cole was awake again, so he sat up and looked around in the pitch-black room. His eyes were caught by movement directly across the room from him, on the pull-out mattress on the ground. Zane had kicked all his sheets off and was tossing and turning, a scrunched up look on his face.

Cole got out of his bed by the time he heard the whimpers again, Zane was definitely having a nightmare. Cole got down on his knees next to the mattress and put a hand on the small blonde. "Zane... Hey wake up..."

Zane continued to toss and turn and eventually streams of tears were running down his pale face.

"Wake up!" Cole said in a yell-whisper and shook Zane's shoulder.

The blonde bolted up scaring Cole who fell back. Zane had scurried back against the wall as well as they both stared at each other's frightened eyes.

"hey..." Cole said awkwardly. "You... okay?"

That's when the water works started again. 'This kid sure does cry a lot...'

Cole went over to comfort the other kid, not exactly knowing how.

"Whenever I have bad dreams, my dad lets me sleep in his bed, so I don't get lonely..." Cole said as he sat next to Zane with his back up against the wall. "Do you wanna come sleep in my bed?"

Immediately Zane attached himself to Cole in a side hug. "I will take that as a yes.." Cole picked Zane up with ease considering how light and smaller he was. He carried the quiet child to his bed and covered them both with the blankets. Almost instantly Zane was cuddled but against Cole's chest. Cole hesitated for a moment before covering Zane's back with his arm in a protective manner.

"Goodnight..." Cole mumbled before drifting off back to a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Jay walked up to the kitchen door to find it filled with smoke. He coughed before walking in to see Lloyd and Kai running around trying to put out the small fire on the stove. The kitchen was a wreck with flour spilled all over the counters, eggs on the walls and their shells discarded on the counter. And the mountain of dishes that were in the sink could probably beat mt Everest in height, no man could ever survive the trip up "Mt Dishes".

Finally, Lloyd ran back to the stove with a bag of sugar and dumping its contents on the grease fire. Jay walked over and opened a window trying to clear the room of the thick smoke.

"What happened in here?!" Jay coughed a bit as the others sighed in relief at the averted disaster.

"We were trying to make breakfast..." Kai muttered in embarrassment.

"oh my god..." Jay face palmed with laughing a bit. "Where's Nya? Why didn't she just make breakfast?"

"Nya went out to get more groceries..." Lloyd leaned against the counter.

"And Zane and Cole?" Jay asked

"They are playing in the living room, we found an old box of toys in Lloyd's closet." Kai started wiping the pile of sugar off the counter and into the garbage can.

"Welp I got stuff to do sooo have fun cleaning this up.." Jay hurried out of the room while Lloyd and Kai protested.

By the time Nya arrived home, the kitchen was for the most part cleaned. The boys were in the living room engrossed in an intense video game while Cole and Zane colored with some crayons on the floor.

"ooo okay I got a good one." Jay laughed from his spot on the couch. He had already got eliminated in the game, so he was talking with Cole and Zane till the next round. "How many tickles would it take to get an octopus to laugh?"

"Uh I dunno'..." Cole paused what he was coloring to look up at Jay on the sofa.

"Ten-ticles!" Jay rolled over laughing at his own joke, while Lloyd just huffed in amusement.

"Oh god Jay, that was worse than your last one." Kai smirked smashing down the buttons on his controller to try and beat Lloyd who was in the lead at the moment

"I wonder how many tickles it would take to get frosty over here to laugh." Cole giggled looking at the blonde who hadn't even looked up from where he was coloring.

"Ha! please, if he was actually listening I could have him rolling over in laughter with one joke." Jay smirked.

"You wanna bet?" Cole smirked, for a kid he sure was pretty ambitious.

"Heck yes!" Jay rolled over, so he was sitting up.

"Okay, whoever gets Zane to laugh and/or smile first wins, and the other gives them 20 bucks." Cole held out his hand. and Jay took it without question in a firm shake.

"Jay are you seriously making bets with a 7-year-old?" Lloyd laughed as he finally destroyed Kai's character with a victory cry.

"hey! Seven and a half thank you." Cole smirked.

"ughhhhhhhhh" Kai let out a long sigh as he put up his controller. "I'm bored.

"We could play hide and seek?" Cole stood up excitedly, crayons long forgotten. "My cousin's and I used to play all the time. I'm the all-time champion"

"Okay fine, but only because I have literally nothing else to do." Kai agreed and so the game began.

They all agreed since Lloyd won the video game he gets to count first. Jay and Kai ran off to their own separate parts of the ship while Cole and Zane hid together in a broom closet close to the kitchen. It was pretty easy to hide with Zane, because he didn't talk so Cole was able to keep them both hidden till the end of the game. Somewhere along the lines Nya had joined in and ended up being the one to find them.

Finally, when it was time for dinner, Cole and Zane where hanging out in the dining room, Cole trying to teach the other how to play cards (with little progress). The rest of the ninja were in the kitchen waiting for the pizza to heat up in the oven.

"So, for a first day I'd say it went pretty well." Jay said as he got down several plates from the cupboards.

"Yeah, luckily they don't ask much questions." Kai replied.

"Maybe It's a good thing Zane doesn't talk." Lloyd laughed. "If he could he would probably interrogate us until he has every bit of information regarding their entire life."

"Wait 'could'?" Nya asked. "Does that mean he doesn't have the ability to speak?"

"I don't know?" Lloyd replied. "I mean maybe? Maybe he just doesn't want to?"

"We can worry about this later. The pizza is done." Kai opened the oven and took out the tray of pizza, walking to the dining room with the others following behind him.

"No, Zane. If you want to play that card, you have to have a 3 of diamonds to go with it..." Cole tried explaining for the umpteenth time.

"Pizza's ready!" Kai put down the pizza in the middle of the table as everyone took a slice.

Everyone was chewing in silence; a few small talk conversations were started.

"Hey Zane, aren't you hungry?" Nya gestured to Zane's untouched plate of food.

Zane quietly shook his head before resting it on the table.

"Aw, are you not feeling well?" Nya reached over to put a hand on Zane's forehead, when he jerked away at her touch and scooted closer to Cole out of her reach. The others looked with confused interest and maybe a hint of concern.

"Here why don't you at least eat a few grapes." Cole handed Zane a grape off of his plate. Zane stared at it for a bit before eating it.

"Do you want any more?" Cole asked offering a few more grapes, to which Zane took and ate only 4.

That reminded Lloyd of his findings last night, the incredibly thin boy and the scars that littered his back. They all sat in silence occasionally glancing towards the children who were sitting with Zane laying his head on Cole's shoulder.

Lloyd made a mental note to talk to the others about it as soon as they put the kids to bed.

After Dinner everyone washed up and it was time for bed. Nya got the boys into bed and almost immediately after she shut the door, Zane crawled up into Cole's bed where he was welcomed.

Nya walked back towards the living room where everyone else was already seated. "What's this about Lloyd?" Jay asked.

"I was meaning to tell you earlier, but whenever I was helping the boys with their bath..." Lloyd trailed off a bit. "I noticed some.. scars... on Zane's back.."

"You mean like battle scars? Is it possible he de-aged but kept some of the scars he gained as a ninja?" Jay asked

"No... not like that.. There were a lot of them..." Lloyd whispered towards the end. "I don't know what they came from but whatever it was happened fairly resent, at least.. in Zane's age time."

"Well I mean from what we know, he was still living out in that weird forest, he could have gotten attacked by an animal or something..." Kai imputed

"I don't know, it didn't look like any animal I've ever seen.." Lloyd mumbled deep in thought trying to remember exactly how the scars looked.

"Either way, it's late. We can talk about this more tomorrow, who knows maybe if you ask Zane he might tell you himself... at least when they're back to normal." Nya said as she stood up from the couch and headed to bed.

The rest of the ninja disbanded to head to their own rooms and think over the new information they were given. It was probably just a wild animal of some sorts.. right?

A/N: BOOM an update in a single day. How do you like them apples?

(you guys should leave likes and reviews it really helps motivate me, especially like right now how I stayed up till midnight just to type this entire chapter out ;) )

what do I have planned for the poor baby ninja ;0; you will just have to wait and see…

Also, its late I'm tired and I don't feel like proof reading this rn so if you spot any grammar mistakes please be sure to let me know, thanks I would really appreciate it ;)

Thanks again for all the support I really appreciate it. So, thanks again and Goodnight. or should I say, good morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Nya made sure to make breakfast today, after the fiasco that happened a few days ago... the kitchen still smelled like burnt toast. And had a full stack of pancakes by the time the rest of the ninja woke up. Cole and Zane had been up with Nya, helping her in the kitchen.

The others had awoken and gathered in the dining room where pancakes where served out and covered in butter and a hearty helping of syrup.

"Any word from Sensei?" Kai asked as he shoved a forkful of pancake into his mouth.

"Not yet.." Nya replied. "Hopefully he will call soon."

"Is Sensei that old guy with the beard that left as soon as we came to the ship?" Cole asked.

"Yup, that's him." Jay said.

Breakfast continued as plates were emptied and seconds were ensured. Zane continued to pick at his first helping and had only eaten a few bites.

Once breakfast was over the boys were released from the table while Nya cleaned up and noted the still full plate in Zane's spot.

Cole and Zane were hanging out on the deck watching the ninja do their morning training. They were told multiple times they weren't allowed to join.. mainly because they weren't old enough and the equipment could be very dangerous.

"Immmm soooooo borrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeddddd." Cole complained as he flopped backwards from where he was sitting crosslegged, onto his back.

Zane wasn't paying too much attention, as he was currently examining a grasshopper he found on the floor of the bounty.

"I'm sick of coloring and that's all we ever do... I want to see my dad already..." Cole whispered out the last part. "Zane are you even listening?"

Cole sat up and looked at the blonde who was intensively starring at the insect in his hands. "Ugh.." Cole flopped back down on his back for a few seconds before deciding to stand up.

"Can we do something today?" Cole asked Jay who had walked over towards where they were sitting for a water break.

"Like what?" Jay asked.

"I don't know just something... I'm bored." Cole sighed.

"We could go to the park or something..." Jay mentioned.

"The park!" Cole straightened up. "Can we? Please?!"

"Woah now calm down there shorty, I would have to talk to the others about it first. and it would have to be tomorrow, because the golf club is holding some sort of vip party or something there today." Jay added as he drank some of his water.

"Stupid golfers..." Cole grumbled.

"Alright that's enough for today!" Kai wiped some sweat from his brow, as the others stopped what they were doing and went to put up the training equipment.

"But until then, I'm sure we can find something to do around here." Jay turned his attention back towards the kids.

Zane had put down the grasshopper and was currently laying on his stomach coloring. Cole grumbled out something about still being bored and went and sat back down next to Zane to watch him color.

Jay had gotten up to stretch a bit, when Cole shrieked from behind him. Turning around anxiously thinking there was an emergency, the sight he was met with was quite the opposite.

The grasshopper had jumped onto Cole's arm, and he was currently flailing it around while screeching like a penguin.

Jay couldn't stop himself from laughing at Cole's panic, and soon the other ninja who had glanced over joined in.

Cole turned a bright red in embarrassment. But he still couldn't keep himself from laughing at his own panic. he let out a light giggle, but abruptly paused when he heard a sound to his right. He turned to see Zane... Zane! giggling!

Zane had a big smile on his face and was quietly giggling with a hand covering his mouth. Cole paused and was absolutely stunned, this was the first time Zane showed any real emotions since they woke up together in a ditch.

Cole jumped to his feet startling the blond. "You!" The others stopped laughing and stared in confusion.

"You! Laughed!" Cole picked Zane up and twirled him around a bit before hugging the smaller blonde tight. Zane had started laughing harder out of joy.

"What!? no way I lost!" Jay groaned and dug through his pocket for a 20.

The other ninja snickered at Jay's sunken mood.

"Did you really think Cole even had 20 dollars?" Lloyd raised his eye brow.

"No but I was going to hold him accountable for it when he changed back." Jay muttered before slapping a 20 dollar bill into Cole's awaiting hand.

"Come on guys I'm going to make a snack." Nya waved to the kids as she went back inside the "Bounty"

The other ninja stayed out on the deck to chat.

"I hope Sensei wu come's back soon... I mean it's been fun and all, but we need to be ready for whenever Lord Garmadon attacks again..." Jay muttered as he took another swig from his water bottle.

"Yeah, Jay is right. I don't know how well we will do with two ninja out of commission." Kai agreed.

"make that 3, I still can't do spinjitzu..." Lloyd muttered. "This grown up body is so... weird..."

"Don't worry Lloyd, you will adjust soon enough... Let's think of this as a little break." Jay patted the green ninja's back in encouragement. "I mean, Lord Garmadon has been quiet, and we can't really do much right now. So, let's just take this time to slow down and catch our breathes."

Lloyd nodded and turned to head back inside with Kai and Jay.

Kai entered the living room a few hours before dinner, to see Lloyd playing video games, and Jay sitting with Cole and Zane who were coloring again.

"Got room for a player 2?" He said as he sat down on the couch next to Lloyd who handed him a controller.

"Oh, so you can let him play, but when I ask, it's all of a sudden a 1 player game." Jay turned around to stare at Lloyd

"Sorry man, but I need actual help getting through level 48. You just keep using up all my ghost points." Lloyd laughed as he unpaused the game.

Lloyd and Jay bickered for a bit with Kai imputing his amusing opinion every so often.

"Zane how come you don't like to talk that often?" Cole asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean often? He doesn't talk at all." Jay laughed after overhearing the kid's conversation.

"Sure he does." Cole put down his crayon and stared right back at Jay. "He talks to me sometimes."

Lloyd by now had paused the game again and was looking over at Cole's innocent face. Suddenly more interesting in this then the video game.

"When?" Jay asked out of curiosity.

"He has nightmares a lot and he tells me what they are about sometimes." Cole answered.

Zane looked almost embarrassed, like he wanted to shrink away from this conversation.

"You mean you can talk?" Jay turned towards to Zane. "Why don't you ever talk to us?"

Lloyd picked up the change in aroma around Zane. He was nervous and scared, something wasn't right.

"Can't..." An almost whisper left Zane's lips. He wasn't making eye contact with anyone. He suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.

The room was dead silent.

"Why not?" Lloyd cautiously asked. He didn't want to trigger anything, Zane already looked very frantic.

"It... It's b-Bad..." The blonde whispered even lower than before. "N-...not allowed."

Zane's breathing was becoming erratic, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

"Hey are you okay?" Cole asked and scooted closer to the frantic blonde.

"S-sorry." Zane was curling in on himself, tears were starting to run down his cheeks and the ninja were in a silent panic.

'Whhhattt do wee doooooo' is what was running through all the older boy's minds. They had never seen Zane this... vulnerable.

Cole, seemingly already knew what to do as he hugged Zane and started rubbing his back, letting the smaller boy cry into his chest, while repeatedly whispering "Sorry"

Cole eventually picked Zane up and left the room explaining he was going to calm him down.

The ninja just sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.

"What... just happened.." Jay asked to nobody in particular.

"He was almost... scared? of us..." Lloyd pointed out.

"Hey guys! want to watch some anime with me?" Nya popped her head into the room to see them all just sitting in silence.

...

...

"Guys?"

A/N: welp that was super angsty :)

Wow another update in a single day... don't start getting high expectations of me, you never know when I'll disappear for a week :'D

this was un-beta'ed so if you see any grammar mistakes please be sure to let me know uwu


	5. Chapter 5

Cole hugged his arm tighter over Zane's shaking form. It had been about 20 minutes since Zane broke down in the middle of the living room and he had still yet to calm down. Zane had buried his head into the over-sized sweater and curled up in a tight ball not making a sound.

Cole assured the other ninja that he just needed time to calm down, after all he was pretty much a pro at calming Zane down from all his nightmares by now. Like geez this kid had a lot of nightmares.

Zane sometimes talked about it, but it was always in hushed whispers. As if the kid didn't even know how to talk louder than that. Usually whenever he explained his daily nightmares, Zane never really explained them. He always muttered something about being hurt, or lost, or forgotten. Usually he mentioned something about a closet? or a door? Cole didn't know.

Usually he didn't freak out like this, but then again Zane always seemed calmer when the others weren't around. Did he fear them? Cole gazed down at the still shaking form beside him, all curled up.

The other ninja were having a quiet discussion out in the living room. Having filled in Nya about what happened, she was as shocked as the rest of them to say the least.

"I'm just saying all the signs are there.." Lloyd muttered.

"I mean It's obvious he isn't acting like a normal kid his age should be." Jay glanced around at the others.

"The scars you said you found, Lloyd." Kai looked in the blonde's direction. "We need to see them. This is a big assumption, we need some physical evidence."

"Even if Lloyd is right, what are we supposed to do about it?" Nya asked. "I mean, just because they are kids again, doesn't mean we went back in time. If it's already happened then there isn't much we can do now."

"We can at least get answers. You know as well as I do that as soon as Zane's back to his normal self, he isn't gonna say a word about it." Lloyd argued.

"Well maybe it's for a good reason?" Jay sided with Nya. "I mean, if Zane wanted us to know then he would have told us right?"

"Jay, this is Zane we are talking about, the only person he would ever even mention this kind of thing to is either Cole or Sensei." Kai reasoned.

"But it's still private information." Nya looked her brother in the eyes with a stern look. "We would be taking advantage of his current situation."

"Well we can't just ignore it, Nya." Lloyd argued. "Even if we can't help what has already happened. Zane is obviously hurt and scared, we can help that."

Jay sighed. "I'm gonna have to agree with Lloyd there. This isn't about secrets and information, it's about taking care of our brother, even when he is vulnerable."

Nya was silent for a few moments, before finally agreeing.

"Then it's settled." Kai announced standing up. "I'm going to go check on them."

"I guess I'll order takeout then." Nya got up and walked over into the kitchen before pulling out her phone and dialing the nearest Chen's noodles.

Jay and Lloyd waited in the living room deciding to play a game until dinner arrived.

Kai knocked on the door once before cracking it open. He had been in Cole's room several times before, but it was still unfamiliar territory. The room was small with the plank wood walls the rest of the ship had. Cole liked to keep his room simple with just his bed, dresser and a music player for the various CD's he had. The only thing that was different, was the mattress on the floor across the room from the bed.

The kids were both in Cole's bed curled up around each other. Zane was fast asleep. Cole popped his head up as soon as he heard Kai enter the room.

"Hey bud..." Kai went and sat down at the edge of the bed.

"Hi.." Cole whispered and untangled himself from Zane's arms, so he could sit up.

"You guys doing okay?" Kai said a bit awkwardly... he usually wasn't the one who had to cheer people up.

"Yeah, Zane just freaked out a little, he is okay now." Cole answered fidgeting with his hands

"So, you said that Zane sometimes talks about his nightmares to you?" Kai asked.

"Yeah sometimes..."

"Do you mind telling me?"

Cole looked at Kai skeptically.

"We just want to help him... I don't know how much you understand this situation, but it's better if you tell an adult." Kai reasoned.

"Okay..." Cole hesitated before continuing. "He usually just tells me about getting hurt or being scared..."

Kai listened intensively.

"He talks a lot about a closet though... I don't really understand it, but he just goes on and on about it."

Kai scooted closer to where Zane was curled up and started rubbing circles on his back. "Mhm."

"He's really scared..." Cole whispered out.

"That's okay Cole..." Kai gave him a reassuring smile. "We're gonna help him out."

Cole smiled back and nodded.

"We're getting take-out for dinner, why don't you get Zane up and we can go eat, okay?" Kai got up from the bed and turned to leave, shutting the door behind him.

Kai walked into the kitchen to see Jay with the bag of takeout items and placing them on the table along with plates and chopsticks.

"Where are the kids?" Nya asked as she saw Kai.

"They're coming." Kai went and sat down.

Everyone except Nya, who was getting more silverware, had sat down by the time Cole walked in holding hands with a tired-looking Zane. The blonde was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while Cole lead him to his seat at the table.

Everyone was pretty silent, while Takeout cartons where passed around and food was put on plates.

Cole was putting some lomein noodles onto Zane's plate. "Is this enough?" He asked while Zane simply nodded.

"Can you please use your words, Zane?" Nya asked with a kind smile.

"Yes..." Zane whispered, and Cole passed the noodles to Jay.

Zane barely touched the food on his plate, but Cole made sure he ate at least a few bites before they left the table. Lloyd had told them that they were going to have a bath tonight, so they went to the bathroom and put on their 'bathing shorts'

Lloyd helped lift Zane's hoodie off like he did the first night they were here. The scars were still there, as visible as before. Lloyd couldn't help but shutter. How could someone do this to a child?

"Hey Zane?" Lloyd asked before he got in the tub.

Zane looked back in acknowledgment.

"What are those on your back?" Lloyd asked cautiously. Zane was probably too young to understand them, but he needed to know exactly what happened.

Zane shrugged and looked around for anything to look at except Lloyd.

"Can you use your words please?" The green ninja asked.

"M-marks..." The blonde whispered.

Cole stood by watching with curiosity. Lloyd walked up to Zane and kneeled in front of him, so they were at eye level. Lloyd placed a hand on Zane's arm, which was slightly shaking.

"Do you know how the marks got there?" Lloyd asked patiently.

"Yeah..." Zane was staring at the ground rocking back and forth.

Lloyd waited for another response but continued when he got none. "Can you tell me how?"

"Not a-allowed..." Zane glanced over at Cole, pleading for him to do something.

"Who says?" Lloyd rubbed his hand up and down on Zane's small arm in a comforting manner.

"M-m-miss San-d-dra..." Zane stuttered out her name.

"And who is Miss Sandra?"

"Car-e t-t-taker..." Zane's stuttering only increased the more his anxiety rose.

"The Care taker? Is she in charge of the Kunoki Home for Children?" Lloyd asked. They had done their research earlier. Zane had brought up how he was raised in an orphanage after getting amnesia at a young age, but he never went into details. Luckily there was only one orphanage in the village he was from so it wasn't hard to find on google.

Zane nodded, obviously tired of using words.

"And what happens if you disobey the rules?"

"P-punished..." Zane's eyes were starting to water, so he blinked the tears away and kept his eyes closed. Cole nervously stepped up next to Zane, the bath long forgotten. He offered his hand for comfort, which Zane took and squeezed.

"What kind of punishments?"

"B-bad-d on-n-nes.." Zane started shaking and the tears finally started leaking down his cheeks.

"Do you know if those types of punishments are normal?" Lloyd wanted to know how self-aware he was.

Zane nodded. He didn't want to talk anymore, not that Lloyd needed him to. Instead of asking more questions Lloyd offered out a hug to the child, who leaned in and buried his face into the green ninja's shirt.

Zane started sniffling and shaking in the embrace. Lloyd just rubbed his back and let him cry. Lloyd had all the information he needed to prove their theory.. Zane was aware as well.. Zane knew it wasn't how he was supposed to be treated... And Lloyd didn't know if that made it better or worse.

Cole eventually leaned into the hug too, so it was much like a Zane sandwich. The bath water had gone cold, and the two children fell asleep on Lloyd after a while.

Lloyd picked them both up. It wasn't hard, with Zane weighing practically nothing and Cole still being small.

He carried them down the hall and got a few strange looks from Jay, but he just nodded at him signaling they would talk later. Lloyd put both of the young boys into Cole's bed and tucked them into the covers. Almost instantly Zane curled up towards Cole who slung an arm around the smaller boy.

A small smile found its way onto Lloyd's face as he turned to leave and quietly shut the door behind him.

A/N: aaaand another chapter yay. so, school is gonna start in like 3 days, so I'm gonna be super busy, idk if I will have time to update as frequently, we will just have to see.

And yes, child abuse rip Zane. It's a common theme in orphanage stories and stuff so I mean... why not. Also, I'm not going to put anything in the story just because, but no it was never sexual abuse, only physical and slight mental. I don't want to go THAT deep lol. hopefully more fluff and (probably sadness knowing myself) in the upcoming chapters. until then bai uwu

also, as always, if you spot a typo or a grammar mistake please be sure to let me know, thank you :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: hey so sorry I disappeared for a while...like I said that might happen. anyways school has started up and the schooling I do is like really fancy for smart kids I guess (even though I'm really not that advanced) and it's a lot of work, the mentality is to make it so hard and so much work that it is impossible to get it all done and you just kinda have to choose the more important stuff to get done and leave the rest as finished as you can get it. (I totally hate that and think it messed up but whatever gotta get that education and stuff) anyways I'm completely overwhelmed by school and haven't had any time to write, so I will probably be posting at a slower rate from now on.

It had been a few days since the breakthrough. Zane had been abused while he was at the orphan home. The other ninja where shocked and kinda hurt that the Ice master had never told them this. They had all been very open about their pasts even if they were traumatic. The ninja wanted it to be clear that there were no secrets between each other, so they could trust each other completely. They all just figured that he left the orphanage whenever he was old enough to provide for himself, but apparently there was a lot more to the story then they were told.

Jay was hurt, but he could understand. Child Zane was absolutely terrified, and he was sure that older Zane still was too. He had noticed little things since they had trained together. Like how Zane would never take off his shirt with other people around. Whenever they had shared a bedroom while they fixed up the rest of the bounty, Zane always changed in the bathroom. Zane also wasn't too keen on physical contact. A good high five or shoulder pat, he was fine with, but whenever someone tried to hug him, or even put an arm around his shoulder the Ice ninja always got very uncomfortable. Zane never verbally explained this, but it was pretty obvious, so the rest of the ninja just respected his personal space. Cole was the one who had pointed out that Zane was claustrophobic. The blonde had told Cole a few times about how he didn't enjoy being in enclosed spaces. And even when they were trapped in that cave for a few hours one time, Zane was really freaking out. Well in Zane's way of freaking out. He looked totally calm on the outside, but anybody that really knew him would know that the ice master was full out panicking.

The more the ninja talked with little Zane the more things started to make sense. The odd behaviors and habits that Zane had slightly shown as a teenager, were all somehow linked to survival tactics he learned as a child. It was hard to get Zane to tell them everything, he was having a bit of trouble speaking. It was made clear first that one of the "rules" in the home was the children were unhallowed to speak in her presence, so most of them just kept their mouths shut all the time just in case. Zane was having a hard time pronouncing or even thinking of certain words, and his stuttering had yet to go away.

Zane had did his best to explain to the adults what had happened and answer any of their questions. He usually doesn't just open up like this to anybody, but he felt connected with these people and felt he could trust them.

What the ninja could make out from what Zane had told them, was that Zane was the oldest of his section of the home, so it was his job to take care of the children smaller than him. If one of them messed up, then he was the one who had to take the blame. Punishments usually included, being locked in a closet, no food privileges, or even being whipped with a belt. Most of these explained most of their questions. Like how Zane was so underweight, or why he had scars all over his back. Even the claustrophobia made sense now. Kai asked about any other punishments. Zane had told them that, usually he saw some of the older kids from the other sections of the home, she would throw them out into the snow, and wouldn't let them back inside for a whole day.

"How many kids were living in the home?" Lloyd asked. there was no way one woman had gotten away with all of this.

"not-t, ma-ma-many..." Zane stuttered.

The village where Zane lived was incredibly small, and usually the kids were orphaned because of parents who died in battle or even of the harsh conditions of the weather. There just weren't enough families in the village for people to get adopted, and it was very rare that visitors ever came.

Throughout the whole chat, Zane had stayed close by Cole's side. Cole didn't understand why a person would do this. He was always taught that there is good in everyone, even if they mess up. But this was unforgivable.

Right as they were about to ask Zane some more questions the phone on the other side of the room rang. They all stared at it for a moment before Lloyd launched off the couch and fumbled with the handle to answer the phone.

"Hello?" He asked even though he already knew who it was.

"Sensei! hey! so where are you?" Lloyd spoke. The rest of the ninja couldn't hear what sensei wu was saying, but Lloyd was nodding his head.

"Okay... yeah.." Lloyd nodded. "Well we have been... fine... more or less.. Garmadon has been quiet though, we think he is planning something."

"How long till you will be back?" Lloyd waited for a couple of seconds. "Okay..."

"yeah..." Lloyd nodded. "Well safe travels, bye Uncle Wu.."

Lloyd hung up the phone and sighed. He turned back to his friends. "Sensei said he should be back in about a week."

Nya sighed with relief, "That's good to hear. Did he give you any more information about the cure?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No... until he gets back we just have to-" A loud blaring alarm cut Lloyd off.

The ninja all ran to the control room where all the screens were read and blinking. "It's Garmadon!" Nya shouted.

"What?!" Jay exclaimed surprised.

"It says he is downtown, we need to go now!" Nya's fingers were flying on the keyboard as she continued to press buttons and zoom in on screens.

"What about Cole and Zane?" Kai asked.

"I'll stay here and watch them." Lloyd volunteered. "I would probably be the least help anyways, and if you end up needing backup, I'll just leave them with the falcon."

The falcon who had been sitting in the window seal had squawked in agreement.

"Alrighty, wish us luck." Jay waved as they jumped off the ship and onto the elemental dragon who glided towards Ninjago City.

Lloyd and the boys stood still staring at were the dragon had disappeared off to.

"Hey, you wanna go mess with Jay's Legos?" Cole nudged Zane on the shoulder who promptly nodded and walked off with him.

Lloyd stared at their retreating forms for a moment before looking back towards the empty sky. He had a bad feeling about this... Hopefully the others will be okay.

A/N

annd that's the end of chapter 6, sorry it's so short and like a month behind... gah I just have so much school :( sorry. I will try to update sooner next time. I have kinda been losing my motivation (thanks depression) like that feeling where you REALLY want to finish something and make it beautiful, but you just can't cause every time you type a single letter your brain just goes "ugggggggghhhhhhhhhh immmm tiirreedddddddddd" I'm not gonna quit the story don't worry. just might not be as good or as well written as I want it to be...


	7. Chapter 7

"LLOYD!" The blonde looked up from where he was playing with Zane and Cole with a startled look. Nya bared in and was looking panicked and out of breath. She was drenched with sweat and a long cut went across her cheek.

"Nya!?" Lloyd got up quickly and ran over to her. "Nya what's wrong?"

Kai burst into the main room as well, looking a little worse than Nya but still relatively fine. It was the hunched over form that Kai was caring on his back that Lloyd was more concerned about.

"Mr. Jay!" Cole shouted as he stood up running over to the rest of the ninja, Zane close behind him.

"What happened?!" Lloyd asked turning to a panting Nya.

"Garmadon... he had some sort of Godzilla monster." She said with her hands resting on her knees.

"No time!" Kai shouted. "Jay needs medical attention now!"

Lloyd waved an arm at Kai to follow him, as they ran towards the med bay. "Nya watch the kids!" He shouted before they left.

Cole stood still a few moments after they ran past. "Miss Nya? is Jay gonna be alright?"

"He's tougher than he looks, don't you worry about him." Nya rubbed Cole's head of floofy hair.

Cole turned back towards Zane to see if he wanted to continue building the Lego castle. Zane was still staring at the corridor Jay was rushed through with wide uneasy eyes.

"What's wrong little guy?" Nya asked, noticing the discomfort.

"He wa-s hurt-t." Zane said in a small voice.

"He will be fine in no time." Nya reassured again. "Tell you what.. Why don't we make get well cards for Jay?"

"That's a great idea!" Cole's face immediately illuminated. "C'mon Zane!"

Cole dragged Zane over to the corner that they were playing in earlier and had gotten out all the crayons and paper. Nya came over to join them and helped them with spelling all the words they wanted to write.

Kai stood back and only helped Lloyd when necessary. Usually Zane or Jay would do all the first aid, but considering one is unconscious and the other is a 6-year-old, Lloyd was the next qualified candidate. Luckily Zane had been giving him minor first aid lessons, so Lloyd somewhat knew what he was doing. somewhat.

Jay had dove in the way of a blast that was meant for Nya. Luckily it hadn't burnt away too much skin and had already cauterized itself so not much blood was lost either. There would probably just be a faint scar on jay's abdomen, he would probably love it. Being able to flaunt off his battle scars to Nya.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kai asked standing against the wall with his arms folded.

"Yeah he should be fine, probably just a little sore for a while." Lloyd nodded as he put everything back into the first aid box and cleaned up any mess he made while catering to Jay's wounds.

"Come on, we should let him sleep." Kai opened the door for Lloyd and closed it after he exited, turning off the lights.

Kai strolled into the living room and watched Nya for a second as she was playing with the boys.

Zane was on Nya's back with his dinosaur hoodie all the way up and over his head, so it looked like he was in a dinosaur costume. Cole was running around with a paper origami sword, chasing after the two.

Nya pretended to be hurt when Cole struck her with the paper toy and fell over on the couch, making sure not to fall on Zane.

"Ha! I have conquered the beast!" Cole raised his hands as Zane copied him and lifted both his fists in the air.

Kai decided to finally step in and make his presence known. As soon as he cleared his throat Cole and Zane were running over to hug his legs, as Nya got up from the couch and walked over to her brother.

"How's Jay?" Nya asked.

"He's good." Kai finally gave in and picked up both of the kids, Cole he swung over his shoulder with one arm, and held onto Zane with the other. "Lloyd said he should be up and walking in a day or two."

"We made cards!" Cole shouted from where he was dangling off of Kai's shoulder.

"Did you now?" Kai asked in a playful tone as Cole squirmed about.

"I'm sure as soon as Jay is awake he would love to see them." Nya said as she picked up Cole, so Kai wouldn't drop him and Zane.

"Oh, by the way, Lloyd called Mr. Brookstone. We're going over there for dinner." Kai told Nya.

"We are gonna go see my dad!?" Cole exclaimed, squirming too much to the point Nya almost dropped him.

"Don't worry," Kai explained seeing the look Nya was giving him. "He's been informed of our... situation."

"Yes, you are." Lloyd answered Cole as he walked into the room. "I'm going to stay here with Jay and keep an eye on him."

"Yay! We're gonna go see my dad!" Cole jumped out of Nya's arms, startling her. Zane motioned that he wanted to be put down as well, so Kai lowered him to the ground.

Cole took Zane's hand and they both ran off, to do whatever while the "adults" talked.

"He took it pretty well from what I could tell." Lloyd said as the boys went to go play.

"I'm sure he's used to whatever weird situation Cole gets himself into all the time." Kai scoffed.

"I'm just trying to keep the boys busy until Sensei comes back at this point." Lloyd sighed. "Was I really that energetic all the time?"

Nya laughed at Lloyd's exhaustion, He had taken over most of the 'babysitting' duties. "Oh, you betcha."

"I like to think of it as payback." Kai laughed. "I should start getting ready to go. we leave in 10 minutes."

"Alright, I will go ahead and set the course." Nya said as she walked towards the control room of the _Bounty_ leaving Lloyd with the boys.

A half an hour later and they arrived in Cole's hometown. Nya and Kai were going to go take Zane and Cole for a few hours while Lloyd stayed behind and watched over Jay.

"Make sure to give him our cards as soon as he wakes up okay?" Cole said shoving both of the two handmade 'get well soon' cards into Lloyd waiting hands.

"Will do." Lloyd nodded. "Have fun you guys!"

They all waved as they exited the ship and started walking towards Mr. Brookstone's house.

When they arrived, Kai rang the doorbell. It was silence for a few moments before, the doorknob started to jiggle, and Lou opened the door enthusiastically.

"Dad!" Cole shouted and hugged onto Lou's legs. Mr. Brookstone was quick to scoop up his now smaller son into a big bear hug.

"I'm glad you could make it, but uhh.. weren't there more of you last time?" Lou said happily.

"Jay was injured in a previous battle, Lloyd is staying behind to watch over him." Nya quickly explained.

"Ah, the ninja business is pretty dangerous isn't it." Mr. Brookstone ushered them inside where he had tea and other snacks already set out.

"Uncle Lorenzo!" Cole shouted again, running from his father to another man who sat on the couch.

"Hey buddy!" Lorenzo smiled.

"Hey what about me?" Another man across the room asked.

"Yeah and me?" Said the final man in the room was was sitting on the couch next to Lorenzo.

"Not now I'm hugging Uncle Lorenzo." Cole's words were muffled as he was currently buried into Lorenzo's chest.

"I'm sure you have already seen my troupe. This is Lorenzo, Francesco, and Marco."

"Nice to meetcha'" Marco walked up and shook hands with the Smith Siblings in greeting, as Cole made his way to Francesco for a hug.

Zane shyly kept his place behind Kai's legs as they all introduced themselves.

"It's so weird seeing him as a kid again." Marco commented. They had all settled in the living room, while Cole and Zane sat on the floor playing with some Legos Lou had kept.

"not to mention with that Zane fellow he is always talking about." Lorenzo commented, poking Lou in the ribs with his elbow.

"does he now?" Kai smirked. This would be some juicy blackmail content.

"All the time!" Lou laughed. "Last time he came for a visit all he could talk about is this gorgeous ice man who made the best food he had ever tasted."

"A true way to that boy's heart is through his stomach." Marco chuckled. As Cole's uncles, they had helped Lou raise Cole after his mother passed away. And they could tell you just how much Cole ate.

"How long do you think it's gonna be until you can find a cure?" Lou asked out of curiosity

"Our Sensei has been gone for almost 2 weeks trying to obtain that." Nya said taking a sip from her tea. "He should be back soon with the cure. Until then we just have to keep them out of trouble."

"Well I hope Cole hasn't been too rowdy. You should have contacted me sooner, I have extra hands around here to watch them if you need a break." Lou gestured to the three Italian men sitting next to him.

"He's actually been really helpful." Kai responded. "Zane has had some... issues.. and Cole has really bonded with him and helped with that."

"Zane practically follows him everywhere." Nya laughed. along with the rest of the troupe members

As the night went on, they continued casual conversation. After dinner it was late, and Nya and Kai decided it was time to head back.

Cole said his goodbyes to his father as well as all his uncles and they made their way back to the _Bounty_.

It was fairly late whenever they made it back, so Kai took Cole and Zane straight to bed. Lloyd was up as well as Jay, who was in the dining room trying to get something in his empty stomach.

"How are you feeling Jay?" Kai asked as he sat down next to him. He was a bit worried for his freckled friend.

"A little sore but other than that great!" Jay smiled as he stuffed another slice of pizza in his mouth. "You won't believe the gnarly scar I'm gonna get for this."

Kai laughed at his ever-present enthusiasm.

"I kinda miss having Zane around though... I'm getting tired of pizza and takeout." Jay finished his plate and got up to put it in the sink, wincing ever so slightly at the tugging of his wound.

"They'll be back before you know it Jay." Kai followed Jay to the living room where they both plopped down on the couch. "Besides have I got some juicy gossip about our dear pining friends."

"omg what did Cole and Zane do?" Jay suddenly got interested. He was such a fangirl for his friends obvious yet oblivious attraction for each other. He quickly pointed it out to Kai who agreed that they would somehow get the pair together.

Kai and Jay sat on the couch for most of the night simply chatting about the day's events and other topics that were thrown around.

Cole tossed on his side, slowly awakening from a deep slumber he looked at the digital clock that was to the right of him. It was 3:14 in the morning.

He quickly located the source of his awakening and it was the shivering form curled up next to him.

'Must be another nightmare' Cole lightly tapped Zane's shoulder until he woke up. Neither of them had said anything, this was a routine at this point. Cole would wake him up from one of his many nightmares. Dry the tears and then back to bed it was. Unless it was a very bad nightmare. In that case they would chat for a little before heading back to sleep.

Zane snuggled up next to Cole's chest again and drifted away into a dreamless sleep. Cole falling soon after.

A/N:

and yay chapter 7 is done! So, I really like the idea of the other members of the troupe being Cole's uncles. like not even actual relatives by blood but just close friends of Lou who have become like 2nd father's to Cole. Also, yes I made them Italian.. because yes. I feel like Lou would be Italian and His wife would be like African American or something. I also have this head cannon where Cole's mother was the old element of earth, and Lou knew that eventually Cole was gonna inherit her powers, but he didn't want Cole to die like she did, so he tried to make him a dancer to keep him out of danger :') I make sad head cannons...


	8. Chapter 8

Cole's eyes fluttered open. The morning sun coming in through the blinds was warm on his face. He shifted a few times and looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was 6:00 in the morning. Blinking a few more times, Cole finally heaved himself up to a sitting position, careful not to rattle Zane too much, who as always was clinging to his side.

Shaking his shoulders a bit, Cole woke Zane up and they both got out of bed. Cole helped Zane put on his dinosaur hoodie like always, and they walked out into the living room where Kai or Nya were usually reading or watching the news.

Upon entering, they saw Jay and Kai asleep on the couch, both of them still in their clothing from yesterday. Cole shrugged- it was about time they got up anyways. He walked up to the tv and turned it on before sitting next to Zane on the ground in front of the couch. Zane didn't usually watch TV, but he would always take that time to have a 'morning nap.'

Nya came in a couple minutes later and giggled at her snoring brother on the couch. "Come on you two, I made breakfast."

All three of them were eating breakfast when Lloyd came in to join them, soon followed by Kai and Jay.

"Morning sleeping beauties." Nya snickered.

"Shut up." Kai lazily sat down, too tired for a proper come-back. He stayed up later than he probably should have talking to Jay and they both ended up passing out on the couch, too tired to make it to their respective rooms.

They each finished their plate, Zane finishing half of his after Nya insisted he took a few more bites. Zane still wasn't used to food, the obvious starvation he went through at the orphanage made his stomach reject food if given too much in one sitting. His rather sickly appearance was still concerning, but he was doing better than before so that was something.

"So how was it, visiting your dad?" Jay asked Cole, putting both of their plates in the sink.

"It was really fun!" Cole said jumping up and down. "I got to introduce Zane to all my uncles."

"Come on you two!" Nya shouted from the hallway. "We're going to the park!"

Cole whooped in excitement and ran off to Nya, where she helped him get his shoes on. They were a little big since they were Lloyd's old shoes, but they worked fine. Zane, who refused to wear shoes, anyone trying to make him wear some would see him end up with bare feet as soon as they turned their backs, was already there with Kai (after a while they just gave up and let him go barefoot).

"You sure you're good to go Jay?" Kai asked seeing him approach the front door as they were getting ready.

"Yeah, I could use a little fresh air," Jay said with a smile.

"You guys have fun. I need to get some training in today, and I want to be here in case Sensei comes back." Lloyd waved them goodbye and shut the door behind them after the rest of the ninja had all walked out, Kai carrying Zane.

Sensei Wu should be back any day now, which was good; they were running out of ways to distract the kids. Besides, they needed their team members back.

Nya held Cole's hand as they all walked down the sidewalks to the park. It was located in the middle of Ninjago City, but it wasn't too far of a walk.

Upon reaching their destination, Cole took off, dragging Zane (who had just been set down by Kai) along with him. Jay and Kai decided to sit on a bench near the playground, content with watching the kids from afar and enjoying each other's company. Nya, on the other hand, going to the playground with them to make sure they didn't get in any trouble.

Zane, who had never been to a park before, was absolutely mesmerized by the swing and was content with sitting there while Nya pushed him the entire time.

Cole sat on the swings for a while, already knowing how to swing himself, but soon got bored and wandered around the rest of the playground, using its variety of playing equipment.

When it was time for lunch, and they decided they should head back to the Bounty to eat. Nya promptly picked up Zane, and Cole followed after her with little complaint.

When they got back to the flying ship, they were greeted by the sight of Sensei Wu and Lloyd talking at the table.

"Sensei!" Jay exclaimed happily.

"Ah yes... hello, my students." Wu spoke as gently as ever. "I apologize for disappearing with little explanation."

"More like no explanation." Kai muttered before Nya elbowed him in the ribs.

"I have the antidote to the curse that Garmadon has inflicted on two of our own." Wu gestured towards the kitchen. "It is steeping as we speak."

"Of freaking _course_ it's tea." Jay facepalmed.

Cole tugged on Kai's shirt to get his attention. "Who is this old guy?" He whispered not-so-quietly.

"This is Sensei Wu, he's our teacher." Kai smiled, trying to show that the man was no threat and they could relax.

They all heard a faint whistling noise coming from the kitchen that was connected to the small dining area. Sensei Wu got up as gracefully as an old man could and left to prepare the antidote.

"Listen you two..." Lloyd sighed before getting up as well and crouching down to be at eye level with Cole and Zane. "The thing is... You're not supposed to be kids right now."

Cole and Zane just looked at him with utter confusion.

"You see, you used to be older like us." Jay gestured to everyone in the room. "You used to be our teammates, the black and white ninja."

Cole blinked a few times. "Huh?"

"Here, look." Lloyd showed them a picture on his phone that he took of the two hanging out one night during some sort of festival. "This is you." He pointed at Cole. "You're the Master of Earth, you're our friend and our teammate.

"And you." Lloyd pointed to Zane in the photo. "You're the Master of Ice, our friend and teammate as well."

"But then... how come I don't remember any of it?" Cole blinked a few times. He was so confused. Now that he really tried to remember, all of his memories seemed to be mixed up and out of order. He had a 13th birthday already, didn't he? But he wasn't even 10 yet? Was he?

"Because Lord Garmadon, the person who Nya, Kai, and Jay went to fight a few days ago cursed you with his Mega Weapon. He turned you back into kids and you forgot all about us."

"Why-y di-didn't you j-just tell us?" Zane stuttered out quietly.

"Because we needed to keep you safe until we got the antidote, if you knew your future already something dangerous could happen." Kai told them.

"So.. that means you have the antidote now?" Cole asked, a little scared. He didn't exactly know what to do. On one hand he believed them and knew that something wasn't right with him, but on the other, there was still a tiny bit of doubt that they could be lying to him for whatever reason.

The ninja all nodded slowly, letting the two children process this.

"All you need to do is drink the antidote, Sensei Wu said you would get your memories back and everything would return to normal."

Sensei Wu came in with two cups of steaming tea. It had a purple tint to it and sparkling green specks. The two cups were set right in front of Zane and Cole on the table, but neither reached out for it. Instead Zane looked towards Cole as if saying "it's your call."

"Will I remember any of this?" Cole finally asked looking up from the tea.

"No," Sensei Wu said. "All the effects of the curse will be gone. That includes the memory of it."

Zane looked a bit frightened. He didn't want to forget his friend, even though he knew he would regain other memories of him.

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now..." Cole looked towards Zane.

Zane threw himself into Cole's arms and silent tears sprung from his eyes. "I don't want to leave yet..." He said without his usual stutter. The sight broke the other ninja's hearts.

"We have to." Cole whispered, rubbing Zane's back. "We're not supposed to be like this."

"I don't want to lose you..." Zane cried a little harder.

"Hey it's okay.." Cole lifted up Zane's chin, so he was looking at Cole. "You won't lose me, and I won't lose you. If anything, we'll be right back where we were. They said we were best friends and I believe them."

Zane finally smiled and rubbed the tears away, before picking up his cup. He looked at Cole one more time for assurance. Cole nodded with determination and together they both downed the cups in a few gulps.

Before they could even put down the cups, a bright light split through the room, forcing the other ninja to cover their faces. As soon as it died down, they looked over to see Cole and Zane passed out on the floor, back in their original forms.

"Oh my God, did you kill them!?" Jay shouted in a slight panic.

"Calm down Jay, they're just out cold." Lloyd said after checking both of their pulses.

Zane shot up from where he was lying in bed, breathing heavily. He looked around for a bit in panic before realizing he was in his bedroom. He took another few moments to calm himself down from the nightmare he couldn't seem to remember.

Zane swung his legs over the side of his bed before getting up and looking himself over in the mirror that was on the opposite wall. He looked same as always, He could see the slight scars on his arms from the short-sleeved shirt he was wearing. His hair was a bit messy, so he ran his hands through it a few times to straighten it out. Changing into a new shirt, long-sleeved this time, he opened his door and silently made his way to the living room.

Halfway there he realized how much his head was killing him. He finally walked into the open door to the living room to see his whole team chatting to Cole, who looked a lot like him at the moment; tired, wearing baggy clothes, and hair obviously a mess. They all looked up as soon as Zane entered.

Zane squirmed a bit under all the attention that was suddenly on him. "Hello..."

"Good, you're awake." Kai got up and handed him two pills and a glass of water. "For the headache."

"How did you...?" Zane stared at the others in confusion.

"We figured you'd have one just like Cole did." Jay replied, as if it was a simple question he should already know the answer to.

"What?" Zane was even more confused.

Cole looked at him knowingly and snickered a bit at his confusion. "Apparently we got hit by Lord Garmadon's Mega Weapon. After giving us the cure, we don't remember any of it." He quickly explained what had already been told to him.

"Cure for what?" Zane sat down on the couch next to Cole as he took the pills and water in his mouth.

"We got turned into kids or somethin'," Cole shrugged.

Zane's eyes widened, and he choked on his water, trying not to spit it out. Coughing a few times, he looked up "What?!"

"Listen Zane, we have a lot to talk about." Kai said, eyes narrowing almost in anger but more in sadness.

Zane could already guess what was coming, and he was definitely _not_ mentally prepared for this conversation. If he was a kid, then they probably figured it all out, either by the wounds themselves or if he was older, the scars.

Zane looked down, almost in shame. He was suddenly very panicked, and he did not want to be here right now.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jay asked softly, sounding betrayed. The atmosphere in the room had changed to one of sorrow and pity.

Zane stayed silent, refusing to look any of them in the eye, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. The rest of the ninja kept quiet, waiting for him to respond. The silence was suffocating, the stares feeling heavy.

Zane's hands were clenched on his knees so hard his already pale knuckles were white.

Cole debated whether or not to put a hand on Zane's back for comfort. "Zane-"

"I couldn't." Zane interrupted.

They all sat silently for another minute waiting on him to explain more.

"I just.. I couldn't." Zane finally gave a shaky sigh. His hands were shaking now and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get them to stop. He felt so vulnerable. "I just wanted to forget."

"You can't forget your past Zane... It's part of who you are today." Lloyd whispered, all too familiar with that feeling, even if it wasn't as intense.

"I hated it so much..." Zane's voice cracked. It was almost shocking; Zane never lost his composure in front of the others before, at least not before the Mega Weapon. And Zane almost never used the term 'hate', far too polite to ever use that word to describe something.

"I hated how helpless I was. I hated how everyone in that god forbidden town knew and none of them did anything." Zane started to rant, his entire form was trembling at this point. "I hate the memories, I hate the scars, I hate how _different_ I am..."

Cole finally put his arm around Zane, who melted into the comforting touch. "There's nothing wrong with being different Zane..."

"It is when you are like me..." Zane whispered, he still hadn't looked up. "I never knew what a family was. All I knew was pain and suffering. I was so weak, and I hate it so much." Zane felt a few drops fall onto his hands and suddenly realized he was crying. He was _crying_ in front of his _teammates_.

Cole, noticing his embarrassment and shame, pulled the blonde into a hug. Zane immediately buried his face, hiding away from the world and just sitting there crying in his best friend's arms.

"It's okay Zane." Cole gave hushed words of encouragement as he continued to rub the ice ninja's back.

The others looked on with a pang of sadness. They hated it too. They hated how much pain their brother had to go through. The thought that anyone could bring themselves to hurt someone as pure and nice as Zane made Kai's blood boil.

It would be okay though. They all knew now. Zane didn't have to pretend anymore, not for them and not for anybody.

It had been a few months since the "Babysitting Adventure", as they called it, and the others refused to tell them much about the month of watching them as kids. It would make for great blackmail later, as well as some of the pictures Nya had been taking of them throughout the month.

Everything had almost gone back to normal, although Zane was getting nightmares again due to recent memories being brought up. Usually he would just keep to himself and meditate until it was morning, but a strange voice in the back of his head told him to get up and start walking, so he did until he reached Cole's room out of habit.

He was confused and had no idea what he was doing, but he walked in, Cole waking up, unsurprised to see him. Cole gestured to climb in, so he did. Zane was snuggled up against Cole's chest, the feeling oddly familiar. Cole just put the blankets back over the both of them and went back to sleep. As if your best friend crawling into your bed at 2:00 in the morning wasn't weird at all. Zane was too tired to care, and followed Cole immediately into a dreamless sleep, one of the best nights he had had in a long time.

A/N: OH, wowie now wasn't that fun XD, welp this was the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it uwu. I certainly did and can't wait to write a new book XD I'm actually thinking of making an animatic based off this fanfiction so if I end up doing that I will add a chapter, so you will get notified, also

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THEKITTENQUEEN(onarchiveofourown) she helped me with this chapter and she beta'd it for me and aaaaaaaaaaaa thank you so much. it looks a lot more professional now. seriously you're great XD


End file.
